244 lines
10 KiB
HTML
244 lines
10 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
|
|
<HTML>
|
|
<HEAD><TITLE>Linux Weekend Mechanic December, 1997</TITLE></HEAD>
|
|
<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#0020F0"
|
|
ALINK="#FF0000">
|
|
<!--endcut ============================================================-->
|
|
|
|
<H4>
|
|
"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
|
|
</H4>
|
|
|
|
<P> <HR> <P>
|
|
<!--===================================================================-->
|
|
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<IMG ALT="Linux Weekend Mechanic" SRC="../../gx/fisk/wkndMech.gif" ALIGN=BOTTOM
|
|
WIDTH=397 HEIGHT=150>
|
|
<H1>Welcome to The Linux Weekend Mechanic!</H1>
|
|
<H2>Published in the December, 1997 Edition of the Linux Gazette</H2>
|
|
<FONT SIZE="2"><B>
|
|
Copyright © 1997 John M. Fisk <fiskjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu><BR>
|
|
The Linux Gazette (tm) is Copyright © 1997 <A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/">
|
|
Specialized Systems Consultants Inc.</A>
|
|
</B></FONT>
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<P><HR><P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- WELCOME SECTION ================================================== -->
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<A NAME="welcome">
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/fisk/welcome2.gif" WIDTH=555 HEIGHT=131 ALIGN=TOP
|
|
ALT="Welcome to the WM"></A>
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Hello y'all! Thanks for dropping in. I'm afraid that this month's weekend
|
|
mechanic is going to be a bit sparser that usual. This semester has been a
|
|
good deal more challenging than previous. I've been taking Compiler Design,
|
|
Database Design, Computer Graphics (X Window based course), and Differential
|
|
Equations and I'm really starting to "suck wind" about now (and I
|
|
see <I>lots</I> of knowing smiles and folks waving white hankies out in the
|
|
audience :-). To all of you in school, my sincerest best wishes!
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And once again, my 'ol Linux box has pulled though in the clutch. I've been
|
|
leaning on it pretty heavily this semester and it's shown what a fantastic
|
|
work horse it really is.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
In the compiler class we're building a "baby Pascal-like" compiler
|
|
using C++ and while others sit for endless hours in the computer lab hacking
|
|
away on the HP system at school, I've been sitting for endless hours hacking
|
|
comfortably at home on my Linux box! It doesn't make the hours fewer, but
|
|
it sure makes them more enjoyable! I've also been playing around with <A
|
|
HREF="http://www.postgresql.org/">PostgreSQL 6.2</A> and
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.tcx.se/">MySQL</A> RDBMS's and they have been a HUGE
|
|
amount of fun and a great means of learning SQL and database design. When
|
|
things here settle down a bit I'll be writing a bit about these.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
For my DiffEq class I finally broke down and purchased the venerable
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.wolfram.com/">Mathematica 3.0 for Linux</A> from the
|
|
good folks at Wolfram Research. This has been a godsend and a wonderful toy
|
|
to tinker with! I'll refrain from getting on the soap box about this one, but
|
|
will say that it is a fantastic program and would HIGHLY encourage anyone in a
|
|
mathematics-oriented discipline to invest in it. For the curious, here's a
|
|
"hot off the press" screen-shot of what I've been up to this weekend:
|
|
plowing through a DE take-home exam (and don't worry, our instructor, who's a
|
|
delightful and brilliant guy, gave us the OK to use "whatever technology
|
|
you have at your disposal..." :-)
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Here's the obligatory thumbnail: click on it to get the full (~88K) 1024x768
|
|
effect - kinda like being there...!
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A HREF="../gx/fisk/mathematica.gif">
|
|
<IMG SRC="../gx/fisk/mathematica_icon.gif" WIDTH=100 HEIGHT=75>
|
|
</A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
For the curious, this was the question about a damped oscillator whose angle
|
|
of deflection was given by the equation:
|
|
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
Ø'' + 0.25 Ø' + sinØ = 0
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
In which Ø is meant to be theta, the angle of deflection. The graph is
|
|
the time series plot of the corresponding system of non-linear differential
|
|
equations with starting values at (0,2), (0,3), and (0,4). Mathematica has
|
|
been fantastic and, more to the point, they provide a Linux Student Version.
|
|
If you're serious about wanting to see high quality software for Linux, then
|
|
"speak with your feet" (or rather, your wallet :-). If I were doing
|
|
the <I>Tucows</I> thing, these guys would get the whole herd!
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And finally, I've been doing a slew of X window based programming using Xlib
|
|
and now Motif for my Computer Graphics course. Once again, Linux has meant
|
|
being home at night rather than 40 miles away sitting in the student lab
|
|
hacking on the X system at school. I've mentioned it before but it's worth
|
|
repeating good praise: I bought <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">RedHat</A>
|
|
Motif 2.0 a couple years ago at the Linux Expo and haven't had a single problem
|
|
with it despite a good deal of use. If you're shopping for Motif then I'd
|
|
definitely have a look at this product. On the other hand, I've heard reports
|
|
that the "Hungry Programmers" have been making serious strides in
|
|
bringing the LessTif product to maturity. Here's a quote from a recent 0.81
|
|
distribution:
|
|
|
|
<PRE>
|
|
|
|
LessTif 0.81 has just been released. LessTif is a freely available Motif
|
|
clone. It is going to be source level compatible with Motif 1.2. It is
|
|
distributed under the terms of the GNU Library General Public License (LGPL).
|
|
LessTif is available from the following URL's
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.hungry.com/products/lesstif/">
|
|
http://www.hungry.com/products/lesstif/</A>
|
|
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.hungry.com/pub/hungry/lesstif/">
|
|
ftp://ftp.hungry.com/pub/hungry/lesstif/</A>
|
|
or
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.lesstif.org/products/lesstif/">
|
|
http://www.lesstif.org/products/lesstif/</A>
|
|
<A HREF="ftp://ftp.lesstif.org/pub/hungry/lesstif/">
|
|
ftp://ftp.lesstif.org/pub/hungry/lesstif/</A>
|
|
</PRE>
|
|
|
|
I haven't had a chance yet to compile and install it but a number of programs,
|
|
such as the latest DDD debugger, claim to be compilable using Lesstif.
|
|
|
|
<H3>And Now For Our Feature Presentation...</H3>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
As I mentioned above, time has been a bit short here recently although over a
|
|
short Fall Break a couple weeks ago I did manage to write up a short article
|
|
for the <A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/lj/">Linux Journal</A> on the <B>Midnight
|
|
Commander</B> file manager. They have very graciously allowed me to include
|
|
the full text of this here. This is the unedited, first-draft copy that was
|
|
sent to them, so all the typos and other egregiosities are solely mine. I
|
|
have long wanted to write about this fantastic file manager which, in my book,
|
|
is a definite "must have" app on every Linux system. This is geared
|
|
towards an introduction/overview, and while admittedly not encyclopedic, it
|
|
does cover most of the highlights (I think... :-) Here it is:
|
|
|
|
<H3><A HREF="./mc_article.html">An Introduction to the Midnight
|
|
Commander</A></H3>
|
|
|
|
<P><HR><P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- CLOSE UP SHOP ================================================ -->
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<A NAME="closeup">
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/fisk/closing.gif" WIDTH=555 HEIGHT=95 ALIGN=BOTTOM
|
|
ALT="Closing Up Shop">
|
|
</A></CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Again, I apologize for such a short column after so long a hiatus. As all
|
|
of the graduating seniors will attest, the final semester usually packs quite
|
|
a wallop and mine has been no different. Good news is, by the time you read
|
|
this I'll be nearly done: GRE Comp Sci Subjects are on December 13th at 2:00
|
|
PM.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
And then... sleep :-)
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
I'll be working with the good folks in
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/">Biomedical Informatics at the
|
|
Vanderbilt University Medical Center</A> here in Nashville for the following
|
|
six months or so and then, hopefully, I'll be starting a Medical Informatics
|
|
fellowship or MS program in Comp Sci somewhere. In the interim, I have a
|
|
large and growing list of backlogged projects and things I'd like to read
|
|
up on, tinker with, and learn about. By January, I'm hoping to have the
|
|
Weekend Mechanic column back up to speed.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
My deepest and sincerest thanks to <B>Marjorie Richardson</B> and the rest of
|
|
the crew at <A HREF="http://www.ssc.com/">Specialized Systems Consulting</A>
|
|
who have worked extraordinarily hard at providing the Linux Gazette. Special
|
|
thanks are also deserving to <B>Mr. Richardson</B>, who has shouldered the
|
|
burden of "Linux Gazette Editor" this month!
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Finally, from our home to yours, we want to wish y'all a very wonderful and
|
|
joyous Christmas Season.
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
John & Faith Fisk<BR>
|
|
Nashville, TN<BR>
|
|
|
|
<!-- END CLOSE UP SHOP ================================================ -->
|
|
|
|
<P><HR><P>
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/fisk/mailme2.gif" ALT="Mail Me a Note" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=398
|
|
HEIGHT=54><BR>
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
Got any comments, suggestions, criticisms or ideas?<BR>
|
|
Feel free to drop me a note at:<BR>
|
|
<ADDRESS> John M. Fisk
|
|
<A HREF="mailto: fiskjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu">
|
|
<fiskjm@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu></A>
|
|
</ADDRESS>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=-1>
|
|
Document Information:<BR><B>
|
|
$Id: wkndmech.html,v 1.2 2002/10/09 22:24:22 lg Exp $
|
|
</B>
|
|
</FONT>
|
|
|
|
<!--===================================================================-->
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<center><H4>Previous "Weekend Mechanic" Columns</H4></center>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A HREF="../../issue11/wkndmech.html">Weekend Mechanic #1, November 1996</A><br>
|
|
<A HREF="../../issue12/wkndmech.html">Weekend Mechanic #2, December 1996</A><br>
|
|
<A HREF="../../issue14/wkndmech.html">Weekend Mechanic #3, February 1997</A><br>
|
|
<A HREF="../../issue16/wkndmech.html">Weekend Mechanic #4, April 1997</A><br>
|
|
<A HREF="../../issue18/wkndmech.html">Weekend Mechanic #5, June 1997</A><br>
|
|
<A HREF="../../issue20/wkndmech.html">Weekend Mechanic #6, August 1997</A>
|
|
<P><HR><P>
|
|
<center><H5>Copyright © 1997, John M. Fisk <BR>
|
|
Published in Issue 23 of the Linux Gazette, December 1997</H5></center>
|
|
|
|
<!--===================================================================-->
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<A HREF="../index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../../gx/indexnew.gif"
|
|
ALT="[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="../../index.html"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM SRC="../../gx/homenew.gif"
|
|
ALT="[ FRONT PAGE ]"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="../successtory.html"><IMG SRC="../../gx/back2.gif"
|
|
ALT=" Back "></A>
|
|
<A HREF="../x3270.html"><IMG SRC="../../gx/fwd.gif" ALT=" Next "></A>
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<!--startcut ==========================================================-->
|
|
</BODY>
|
|
</HTML>
|
|
<!--endcut ============================================================-->
|